Cardiff Airport Gets New Face for Security

The airport at Cardiff will be introducing it’s new facial recognition technology in their passenger arrival lounge. The new equipment, in the form of gates, will be installed at the Cardiff Airport and valid for any UK or European adult which has been issued a passport since 2006.

The special technology is designed for adult passengers’ faces to be scanned in a manner of seconds and then compared to their digital passport photos. The system will be entirely voluntary and Cardiff Airport will be the first of a series of ten trial airports across the UK which will be receiving the technology this year. Other airports expected to receive the facial recognition gates include Manchester, Bristol, and Stansted.

The gates are being installed in a partnership among the Cardiff Airport and the UK Border Agency. Bob Lyne, the assistant director of Border Forces in Wales, said that Britian has some of the toughest border security on the planet, and that the new technology will only enhance border security for the UK.

He also went on to add that the new technology will enable Cardiff Airport to, not only make the airport safer, but also to help them speed up their service at customs. Russel Clements, the acting director for Cardiff Airport, also said that the gates will further help passengers to conveniently and quickly get through security check points.

He continued that, especially with business travellers, most passengers have been giving positive feedback and opting to use the facial recognition gates, which make for a speedy service at security check-points.

The new e-gates still check for the same security measures included on security watch lists, and passengers using e-gates are still subject to random, manual checks. Birmingham, Gatwick North, and East Midlands are some of the next airports on the list to receive the facial recognition technology.